Achieving Sustainable Development of Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria through Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force in the education sector; offering unprecedented opportunities driven towards enhancing learning outcomes, improving operational efficiency, and fostering innovation. The motivation for the study emanated due to lingering issues and educational concerns bordering on inadequate infrastructure, overcrowded classrooms, and limited access to modern teaching resources. These challenges have therefore hindered the quality of education in tertiary institutions in  Nigeria. To address these abnormalities in the education system, the introduction of/AI technologies such as personalized learning, automated grading and virtual tutoring offers solutions to these mitigating challenges by personalizing learning, enhancing access to quality education and achieving sustainable development of Nigerian tertiary institutions. Therefore, this research work aimed to investigate how sustainable development of tertiary institutions in Nigeria could be achieved through artificial intelligence. Specifically, the study aimed to examine how personalized learning, automated grading and virtual tutoring will enhance sustainable development of selected Polytechnics in south-east of Nigeria. Accordingly, the study adopted a descriptive research design using a survey method to source the needed data from the respondents. The target population of the study consists of staff from selected tertiary institutions in South East, Nigeria. Partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the formulated hypotheses of the study at 5% level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that personalized learning, automated grading and virtual tutoring significantly and positively led to and enhance sustainable development of tertiary institutions in Nigeria. The researchers recommended that tertiary institutions should invest heavily in robust and scalable ICT infrastructure so as to support the deployment of AI technologies for effective implementation of personalized learning in tertiary institutions in Nigeria. It was also recommended that Lecturers should be trained on AI grading tools such as Gradescope, Turnitin feedback studio in order to maintain academic integrity. Tertiary institutions in Nigeria especially Polytechnics should collaborate with software developers so as to customize virtual tutoring systems that align with Nigerian curricula in order to assist students beyond classroom hours thereby reducing academic workload on Lecturers for improved students’ satisfaction and sustainable performance.